When A Click Becomes An Action

Let’s face it, on a long enough time line we all boil down a game to a series of button presses and clicks.

I’m not a psychologist or psychiatrist but eventually we have to like a game for our own reasons. Things that appeal to us. Even then we need to take breaks, find ways to suspend our disbelief, or switch games.

It can start muddling up a persons thinking when you get too far into philosophies of playing and the psychologies as well.

There is something to be said for:

How can the game be made more fun

or how I can learn to enjoy a game more

I don’t have the accute sense to know where the line is drawn, or if the line sways-which way and when.

At some point though, in our minds, things “click” and appeal to us. Maybe it’s a slight case of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in crafters that keep them clicking for hours on end harvesting?

No doubt we can draw group conclusions. People can be competitve. Games are built around this human nature.

Crafting though. I need to do more research on it. Many people get bored citing that all they are doing is “boring click after click”.

An obsessed crafter like myself finds this not to be a series of clicks, but actions. I’m taking part in the action of harvesting a resource. That’s how it clicks in my head. I rationalize the acceptance of needing to “grind” a lot of nodes by learning to use that slow time to chat more, or just enjoy the relaxation.

We are a niche. No doubt there’s more people out there that engage in more stimulating actions from MMO’s to console games, to casual-based games where you have to beat the clock.

There’s a very weird dichotomy within the people who’d rather pursue instances and more active elements in an MMORPG.

While crafting may be a niche because it’s not active enough, PvP is still a niche too. More servers are packed with hordes of PvE fans who want to have the action the games provide without being “harrassed” by other players.

So when does a click become an action, or vice-versa?

Where do we fine that line that shows us where the game can be improved and where we can be improved?